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uJ

Verbal Clitics and Object Pronouns

in Spanish

by

Sandra Scharff Babcock

2451 Fishinger Road

Columbus, Ohio 43221

1968

This paper presents, within the framework of case grammar, an analysis

of object pronominalization in Spanish.1 It begins with a discussion of

1Much of the material for this paper is discussed informally in mybook, The Synttlx: of Spanish Reflexive Verbs: thp Parameterp of the MiddleVoice. The Hague, Mouton, 1969 (hereafter referred to as Reflexpas).I owe thanks to Marta Morello-Frosch and Marlene Estdvez-Astier of The OhioState University, and to Nally Martinez of McGill for their insights; andto J. C. Babcock and C. J. Fillmore of CSU for their comments.

the derivation of pronouns in general, and proceeds with observations on

the structure of object pronouns in Spanish, and with rules for their

derivation. Reasons are given for excluding many so-called 'reflexive'

constructions from the analysis of pronominalization, and some of the non-

pronominal constructions ara discussed.

1. The structure of pronouns. In a recent analysis by Fillmore (1967)

pronouns (Pains) are derived from determiners. This analysis will not

account for sentences in which Prns can cooccur with NPs. These are Ban-

terms like (1) - (3).

(1) My wife sh4 says it isn't true.

(2) I read it 'already, that book

(3) They are incredible, some of those interpretations.

Cooccurence of NP and Prn in sentences like (1), where the Prn is normally

stressed, is not at all uncommon. Neither are sentences with tag-NPs,

where the NP is retained either for some kind of emphasis, or for clarifi-

cation of reference. And since the NP in all of these sentences includes

2a determiner, we cannot derive personal Prns from determiners. Rather,

2

ii.111

2Fillmore includes this and that among the Prn- determiners. Actually,they are distinguished from personal Prns by their determiner status. Butnotice that in Spanish the deictics) gste lthis' and la 'that', may co-occur with definite articles. We can say este libro 'this book', or ellibro este, and so on.

they must be derived transformationally as parts of NP.3

The derivation

3This analysis was first proposted in my dissertation in 1965. (The

title is the same as Reflexives.)

of first and second person Prns is guaranteed by marking the N for the

feature of [-first person) and [-singular) and allowing it(optionally) to

be realized lexically as zero.4 Zero Ns must then be expanded transforma-

4First person Ns are said here to be optionally empty because we cansay 1. Mary Smith, am not guilty.

tionally into N-Prn and represented at the sentence level by the Prn only.

The derivation of Prns is illustrated below.

(4)

)14)'%

ttat bolok

(5) NP

(6)

1Pyn

it

2. Observations on object Prns and verbal cities in Spanish. Object

Prns in Spanish are traditionally said to have two forms, the conjunctive

3

and the disjunctive, also called the unaccented (unstressed) and the

accented (stressed). The unaccented (conjunctive) forms are referred to

as verbal clitics or affixes, and the disjunctives occur only as heads of

prepositional phrases. The clitic may occur alone, as in (7),

(7) Le veo 'I see him'

or it may 000ccur with the disjunctive; but the disjunctive Prn occurs

only in the presence of the clitic. Thus (3) is grammatical and (9) is not.

(8) Le veo a 41 (pero no a ella) 'I see him, but not her'

(9) *Veo a 41

In Spanish textbooks, the 41 of (8) is said to be a redundant Prn.

This definition of 'redundancy' is extended to sentences containing a

clitic and a N object.

(10) La veo a Maria cuando voy al club 'I see Mary when I go to theclub'

In (10), we are told, it is the clitic which is redundant. The 'addition'

of a 41 in (8) is said, essentially correctly, to be determined by

emphasis or contrast. The presence of the clitic in (10) is unexplained.

The analysis of the clitics is complicated by the fact that in the

absence of the disjunctive forms, sentences with the clitics are ambiguous.

Observe (11) and (12).

(11) Lo conozco 'I know it/him'

(12) La vi 'I saw it /her'

Sentence (11) presupposes ambiguously (13) or (14); sentence (12)

presupposes ambiguously (15) or (16).

(13) Lo conozco a 41 (pero no a ella) 'I know him, but not her'

(14) Oonozco el Libro de Buen Amor 'I know the Libro de Buen Amor'

4

(15) La vi a ella (pero-no a- 41Y Irsaw-her, but riot him'

(16) Vi la pellcula saw the film'

It is clear that in (11) and (12) the antics lo and la are not meaning-

bearing elements, and that since these sentences REmmaset sentences like

(13) and (15), the disjunctives are not redundant.5 It is not the case

5The grammarian Bello (1964) says that the clitic and the disjunctiveare two parts of the same Prn. This interpretation, while not accurate,is more appropriate than that found in the textbooks;

that they are added for emphasis; rather, they are retained, for emphasis.

In Castilian Spanish, the dialect on which this study is based,

ambiguity is obviated by the use of the clitic le when the object Prn is

singular, masculine, and human. Thus, (11) would be realized as (17):

(17) Le conozco know him,

However, the etiticale and lo are sometimes indifferently interchangeable,

both for human and inanimate objects, and neither affix has any independent

meaning.

Ambiguity of reference is generally confined to third person construe-'

tions, but it exists also in some sentences with first and second person

plural reflexive objects, even when a disjunctive Prn is present. Observe

(18).

(18) No debemos abandonarnos a nosotros mismos

This sentence glosses either as (19) or (20).

(19) We must not abandon ourselves

(20) We must not abandon, ourselves to ourselves

In the sense of (19), (18) traces directly to the deep structure. In the

5

sense of (20,, however, the direct object- phrase has been (obligatorily)

deleted. The deep structure, then, contains

(21) No debemos abandonar (nos) a nosotros mismos a nosotros mismos

Again it is clear that the clitic has no meaning. The nos in (18) cannot

correctly be glossed either as use or as ourselves, or as to ourselves.

It is neither an object, nor reflexive, nor a Prn. None of the clitics

ar Prns; they are pronominal elements of the Verb (V).

221 ObJect Prns versus verbal clitics. It is well known that the

shape of the V in Spanish conveys information about the person, number,

and sometimes gender, of the (surface) subject. What has Dot been noted01.1.110116.0

in any explicit way is that the shape of the Spanish V often provides other

kinds of information about the subject, or information about the surface

direct or dative (D) objects. The conveyance of these other kinds of

information is the function of the cities. They are pronominal elements

of the V, just as the o of canto sing' is a pronominal element of the

V. The antics mu provide information about N objects and must provide

information about Prn-objects. As in other languages (e.g. Menonmini),

when the object is deleted, the Spanish V still contains within it infor-

matiou about the object. This is especially obvious in the forms for

'you look at me' Me miras and look at you' to mho, where the Vs com-

pletely specify the object, and the Prns ml and ti are not present in

non-contrastive, non-emphatic sentences. In third person constructions,

absence of the Prns creates ambiguity, as we have seen.

With transitive Vs having direct objects the clitics specify 1) the

grammatical gender of the object; 2) the number; and 3) definiteness. In

addition the clitic le in Castilian marks the object as human. The D

6

cities convey the information that the V has a superficial D object

(which may be Locative (L) or Benefactive (B) in the deep structure), and

that the D object is singular or plural.

It should be emphasized that the clitics do not convey information

about whether the object is a N fir a Pm, since they cooccur with both..

It is also important to note that not all of the clitics are exclusively

object markers. The clitic lo occurs sometimes with ser 'to be' as in the

following.

(22) ,Es Vd. la ductila de la case Sf, lo soy. 'Are you the lady ofthe house? Yes, I am'

However, although we cannot say the cities are always object markers, we

can say that the Spanish V exhibits concord with its subject; agrees with

a direct object Prn in person, number, and grammatical gender, and with

its D Prnr in person and number. When the object Prn i6 deleted, the V

still carries information about it; the sentence lo stft, is glossed properly

as know the definite grammatically masculine object))

2.2 The presence of the cliticg with N objects., Once we realize

that the clitics are not Prrs, it becomes easier to understand some of the

anparent mysteries of their behavior. For example, sentences like (23)

and (24) do not have redundant Prrs.

(23) Le hablig a Marla (y no hice m s que saludarla a Juana) II spoketo Mary, (but did no more than greet Juana)'

(24) Le hab14 a ells (y no hice mis que saludarla a Juana) 'I spoketo her, but did no more than greet Juana'

The presence of a clitic when the object is a N is formally optional for

some VS,6 but its presence makes a difference semantically. Consider the

7

6There are many constructions in which the clitic is required, evenwhen the N object follows the V. This is true of many causatives and ofall Vs whose superficial Ds are deep structure La or adnominal Ds. We sayLe.puse-los zatap_,L_osal nino but not *Fuse los zaratos al nino; Le lavdlas mans al nino 'I washed the child's hands', but not *Lave` las manosmoo. The analysis of these constructions is found in 2.2.1.

011111=1,1

following sentences.

(25) LLe hablas a Juan? 'Do you speak to John?

(26) eiahlas a Juan? 'Are you speaking to John (these days)?'

(27) La conazco a Maria 'I am acquainted .with Mary'

(2$) Conozco a Maria, y si que ella no harla eso know Mary, and Iknow she wouldn't do that'

The semantic distinction between (27) and (28) is clear from the glosses.

The distinction between (25) and (26) becomes clear when we see the kinds

of answers they can elicit, as exemplified in (29) and (30) which answer

(25) and (26) respectively.

(29) sf, le hablo cuando nos vemos en el club 'Yes, I speak to himwhen I see him in the club'

(30) No, no is hablo desde que nos peleamos 'Na, I haven't spoken tohim since we fought'

Sentence (25) could be answered by (31), while sentence (26) could not.

(31) Sf, nos hablamos 'Yes, we speak to each other'

The optional presence of the clitic marks the N object in the pre

ceding sentences as a participant in the verbal activity, rather than

simply a participant in the sentence. It is not easy to see just how this

'participation' feature is to be accounted for formally. I note these

facts here simply to illustrate the semantic differences between sentences

with and without the clitics.7

8

7The facts about the 'participation' function of optional clitics

disprove the curious notion found in textbooks of late (Bolinger andothers, 1960) that the clitic is 'added' whenever the activity of the Vis considered to be within the normal, relaxed, customary range ofoperations. The presence of the clitic has nothing:to do with Whetheroperations are normal or not. Note, for example, the sentence, Le rogamos

f,AT_cdutico ue como un f vor es eci nos d4 1= medicina de fiado.'We will beg the pharmacist to give us the medicine on credit as a specialfavnr.' The clitic in this sentence, in which the activity is clearly notin the normal range of operations, simply elicits the participation of theD object.

242.10 Dative ollecta.Elthohligatomslukca: It has already been

noted that surface D objects are not always Ds in the deep structure. For

example, the surface D in (32) is a D in the deep structure; the surface

D in (33) is a Locative, while that in (34) is a Source N.8 And in (35)

8The category of Source is a subcategory of Locative aolo which maycooccur with-a ldestinativel L (destinative or static Loc). The two co-occur in Mary ran from home to school in ten minutes. The need for theestablishment of this category was discussed in Reflexives.

the D is an adnominal of possession.

(32) Juan le dio el asiento a Maria 'John gave the seat to Mary'

(33) Maria le puso los zapatos al nitro 'Mary put the shoes on thechild'

(34) Marta is quite la chaqueta al nitro 'Mary took the jacket off thechild'

f".-(35) Marfallyavil las mans al nitro 'Mary washed the child's hands'

The ways in which these sentences differ :rom one another is illustrated

in the following diagrams. ( ^6) illustrates the structure of (32), and

so on with the others,

(36)

NP

N

Juan

S

is dio

0

NP

dNel asiento

D

NPie\d NI I

a Maria'

9

IaalllnmftwIr6..IMI

9P is 'Proposition,' the V and its participants; 0 is 'Objective,'

the semantically most neutral participant; K is 'Kasus,' normally realized

as a preposition in English. K in this study is treated as a constituent,

rather than a sibling, of NP.

(37)

(38)

A

NP

Maria

S

V 0 Loc

NP

d N

I

is puso los zapatos

I

IV

NP

PI

Maria le quitS

0

NP

la chaqueta

Lac

1

SourceI

NP

K d

a]. niflo

(39)

A

NP

IMaria

V Loc

Source

NP1

NP

d N K d N

V 4

las ranos al nifio10

10

10The surface object of lav, like that of the English 'wash', is aSource NP in the deep structure. Underlying Mary washed her hands, is some-thing likelkallNojlesUltsLAILASLher hands; Marla se lava las mans is

nuit6 el

The clitic is obligatorily present in all of the examples above. It

should be noted that (33) and (34) are ambiguous, since the objects may be

taken to be inalienably possessed by the D or not. In other words, under-

lying (33) we have either (37) or (39)(a).

(39)(a)

A

NP

N

Maria le puso

0

NP D

Loc1

L

/\ NP

d N K d N d K NVtlos zapatos al nifio al niEo

When sentences like (33) have the underlying structure of (39)(a), the

adnominal D phrase is deleted just in case it is identical to the major

category D.

11

It is important to note that the perceived function of the clitic is

Loc - -or directional - -in (33) and (34) and possessive in (35). The 'mean-

ing' of these cities; then, is a function not only of the type of surface

object, but also of the category of the objects. In (35) and (40) the

function is only possessive, and it is quite inaccurate to gloss either

(35) or (40),

(40) le retorci el pie 'I twisted his foot'

as (41) or (42), as has often been done.

(41) I washed the child's hands for him

(42) I twisted his foot for him

There is no Benefactive case in the deep structure of these sentences, and

it is curious, therefore, that these cities have been interpreted as

indicators that the activity is carried out for the benefit (or disadvan-

tage) of the D N, or as indicators of some kind of 'interest' that the D

takes in the activity. The 'interest' that the D object takes in the

activity in (35) and (40) is that the hands and foot are his. There are1110.100

sentences, however, in which the clitic registers in the V the presence

of a Benefactive. This is the case, for example, in (43).

(43) Le hice las maletas. 'I packed the suitcases for him'

But it is not the case tnat (44) means 'I'm going to break your arm for

you.'

(44) Le voy a romper el brazo 'I'm going to break your arm'

Such possessive sentences as these have been much misunderstood, and it

is crucial to our understanding of Spanish that we recognize that D

phrases can be the surface realizations of some five different categories

in the deep structure.11

12

11Notice incidentally that me comm.& un libro is ambiguously derived

from either nom r6 un libro nara 'He bought a book for me,' Lid Ataopr6 un li ro 'He bought. a book from me.'

.1111111INIP.

Oblect pronominAlization. As is generally true in English,12 a

12For an analysis of English pronominalization see Lees and Klima,

1963. English always requires that a repeated N within a simplex bereplaced by a reflexive Prn, according to Lees and Klima,. In fact, thisis not the case if the repeated N is a Comitative N or part of a literalLac phrase, as we will see. English also reflexivizes across clauses inThey appointed only men like themselves to the position, an alternant ofThey appointed only pen who were like them to the position. Spanish neverreflexivizes across clause boundaries.

repeated N in Spanish is replaced by a reflexive Prn if it is within the

aame simplex; otherwise it is replaced by a non-reflexive Prn (what Bello

(1964) calls an oblique Prn) . Thus; we havo'(45) and (46).

(45) Me pidid que le protegiera (a 41) 'He asked me to protect him'

(46) Me pidiS que me protegiera (a ra mismo) 'He asked me to protectmyself'

In (45) the object of the subordinate clause repeats the subject of the

main clause; in (46) the object of the subordinate cle'se repeats the tacit

subject' (Agentive) of the same clause. Leaving the description of reflex-

ive pronominalization for later, let us examine direct and D object pro-

nominalization with Toblique, objects. We will generate the following

sentences.

(47) Juan is dio el libro a Marfa 'John gave the book to Mary'

(48) Juan is dio el libro a ella 'John gave the book to her!;

(49) Juan is dio el libro 'John gave her the book'

(50) Juan se lo dio a Marfa 'John gave it to Mary'

13

(51) Juan se lo dio a ella 'Juan gave it to her'

(52) Se lo dio Juan 'John gave it to her'

(53) Se lo dio gaVe it to her'

Sentences (48) a. (53), which contain both direct and D objects, are all

varients of (47) 4 Sentences (47) - (49) are generated below in sequence

(54) - (63). Sentences (50) - (53) are generated in sequence (64) - (69).

The differences betvieen these diagrams and Fillkorels are determined by

the fact that subjectivalizatioh in Spanish frequ6ntl3t does not, and ofteh

cannot, include subject fronting.

. (54)

(55)

(56)

past da

NP NP

ells MaLa por Juan

N k

el libto Maria Juan

dio Biro Make Juan

(57)

(53)

(51)

(50)

dio

A

JP

N1

libro Marra JUan

le dio

NP

d N K N

1 Iel libro a NW ia

AINP

I

1

Juan

to dio

jP NP NP

d/lj\N K N N

1 1 11

el libro a Marfa ella Juan

le dio1

el libro a ella J an

14

(61)

A

(62)

(63)

(64)

1,e dio

NP

dr\el libro

IP

tJuan

P

"--------------7410

11

NP NP

1 7

K N1

to dio el libro a Marra Juan

S

K

le lo dio a Naito JJan

15

fr

,

(65)

(66)

(67)

(63)

V

NP

11

Prn N

to dio a Marra ella Juan

siP

S

IP

V Q A

1

NP NP

1(\I I

to dio a ella Juan

S

16

17

13It is instructive to note that se lo dio occurs as a reflex of s22/12L

ou ave it to her h ou sin lar ou luralahem masculine them femenine.We note a so that although there is always complete concord with N and Prn,concord between clitic and N or Prn is often not achieved in nonstandardlanguage. We hear se los di for se lo di 'I gave it to them', lo ocurre aellos for les ocurre a ellos 'It occurs to them'; dale recuerdos a ellosfor dales recuerdos a ellos 'Give them regards', and so on. In plural com-mand forms, the clitics are sometimes :porated in the V. We hear p6ngalanfor P6nganla 'put it'; amelon for ddnmelo 'give it to me'; and so on. Theseare all errors that Spanish-speaking children are admonished by their grammarteachers not to make.

Subject fronting, when it occurs, follows the anaphoric subject deletion

rule, and precedes fronting rules for other participants. Thus, the subject

is deleted in (69) from its original position. The reason for this is that

it is uneconomical to front the subject and then delete it. It is interesting

to note, incidentally, that retention of this position is not infrequently

obligatory. The answer to Loquidn to lo dijo? 'Who told you?' can only be

He lo dio Maria 'Mary told it to me' (provided the V is retained). Other

examples of obligatory retention of subject or object in postverbal position

are found in various places throughout the paper.

4. Reflexive and reciprocal pronominalization. As has already been

noted, a N occurring for the second time in a simplex is obligatorily replaced

with a reflexive Prn. Reflexive Prns are of two types: the simple Prn s/

and the complex si mismo. The occurrence of the two forms is observable in 6

the following.

(70) Maria cree en si misma 'Mary believes in herself'

(71) Juan la acerc6 a si 'John drew her 'to him'

These sentences are based on (72) and (73) respectively.

(72) Maria cree en Maria 'Mary believes in Mary'

18

(73) Juan la acere6 a Juan 'John drew her to John',

The difference in form between (70) and (71) is apparently determined by

the fact that in (70) the static toe phrase en sf misma is metaphorical,

while in (72) the Loc is literal. In English we see a similar distinction

between literal and metaphorical Loos. We have the reflexive Prn in (74)

and the simple Prn in (75) and (76).

(74) Mary believes in herself

(75) Mary drew him toward her

(76) Mary put her clothes on (her)

Sentence (76) has the same structure as (77),

(77) Mary put the books on the table

which. is certainly a simplex. The V EA always requires a Loc phrase; there

is no sentence (78),

(78) *Mary put the books

Sentence (76), then, like (75) and (78), is a simplex, as is (79),

(79) Mary put it behind her/the tree.

And since these sentences are simplexes, we must amend the rules presented

by Lees and Klima (1964) to account for the fact that literal Loc Ns are

replaced in English by the simple Prn and in Spanish by the simple reflexive

Prn.

Now, if the repeated N is a surface direct or D object in Spanish, or

if a Loc phrase is treated as a surface D, a special antic is attached to

the V. Observe the following.

(80) Maria se mir6 a sf misma 'Mary looked at herself'

(81) Marfa se lo repetfa a sf misma 'Mary repeated it to herself'

(82) Juan (se) la acerc6 a sf 'John drew her to him'

19

It is crucial to the interpretation of sentences like these to note that

the reflexive Prns are gt and sf mismo, not the clitic se. This so-called

'reflexive' clitic is required in several different types of constructions,

including those with reflexive and reciprocal objects. The one property

that Rll 'reflexive' constructions have in common is that they are intransi-

tive.15 By this I mean that they cannot be passivized (in Classical Latin

15Pau1 Postal (1964) notes that in Mohawk sentences with reflexive

objects, the V requires a reflexive prefix and the object is obligatorilydeleted. Reflexives in Mohawk, then, as Spanish, are superficialintransitives.

grammar, an intransitive V was defined as one that could not appear in the

passive). Additional functions of the clitic are construction-bound, as

we will see.

4.1. Deletion of reflexive objects. There is a type of intransitive

construction in English that results from the deletion of reflexive objects.

This type of intranativizationsometimes requires suppletive alternation in

the V. Intransitivized reflexives include (83) - (86),

(83) John washed and dressed (himself)

(84) We put (ourselves) up at a hotel

(85) John sat down on a bench

(86) Mary lay down in bed

The Vs in (85) and (86) are suppletive alternants of set and lazy, as is

clear from their retention in non-standard English:

(87) John set (himself) down

(88) Mary laid (herself) down

20

16For a discussion of the reflexive source of certain intransitives in

English, see Curme, 1931.

Intransitivization in (83) and (84) is optional; in the others it is

obligatory. Spanish also has optional and obligatory deletion of reflexive

objects. Deletion is optional, for example, in (80) - (82). Sentences

(89) - (91) are all possible, though normally not without some other parti-

cipant in the sentence.

(89) Marfa se mires al espejo 'Mary looked in the mirror'

(90) Marfa se lo repetfa (muchas veces) 'Mary repeated it (to herself)many times/

(91) Juan se la acerc6 'John drew her to him'

Deletion is also optional in (92), which has (93) as an alternant. But in

(94), where the surface object is a cart of the subject, deletion is obliga-

tory, so that only (95) is grammatical.

(92) Juan se lave a sf mismo /John washed himself'

(93) Juan se lav6 (y se visti6) 'John washed and dressed'

(94) *Juan se lay& las mans a sf mismo

(95) Juan se lave las mans 'John washed his hands'

The analysis of (95) parallels that of (35), except for the obligatory dele-

tion of the adnominal in the latter. Deletion of adnominal reflexive Prns

is always obligatory in Spanish.

ALLILSILLalklEy deletion with Vs of motion. Reflexive objects of

Vs of motion are always deleted in Spanish, as has been noted by Amado Alonso.17

1...0=0....11.17Amado Alonso and Henriquez-Urefia (1959) point out that with Vs of

motion among others, the clitic 'reflexive' is not an object, since all suchVs are intransitive.

21

Thus, we can say (96) . (99), but (100) - (103) are ungrammatical.

(96) Juan se sent6 en un banco 'John sat (down) on a bench'

(97) Juan se levant6 temprano 'John rose early'

(98) Juan se acost6 a las once 'John went to bed at, eleven'

(99) Juan se escondi6 detrgs del drbol 'John hid behind the tree'

(100) *Juan se sent6 a s/ mismo en un banco 'John set himself on abench'

(101) *Juan se levant6 a si mismo temprano 'John raised himself early'

(102) *Juan se acost6 a si mismo temprano 'John put himself to bedearly'

(103) *Juan se escondi6 a si mismo detrds del Arbol 'John hid himselfbehind the tree'

All of these Vs may take oblique objects, and the deep structure of the

intransitive sentences unambiguously contains a repeated N under D.

It should be pointed out that the translation of (96) and (97) as 'John'

seated himself...' and 'John raised himself early' is inexact. The most

accurate translation of (96) is 'John sat(upidown)on a benchl; the most

accurate translation of (99) is 'John rose early,' where rose is the sup-

pletive alternant of raise (plus reflexive object).

4.1.2. Absolute reflexives. Spanish, like English, has absolute

reflexive Vs--Vs, that is, which do not take oblique human objects. The

difference between the two languages is that absolute reflexive objects in

Spanish are obligatorily deleted. Thus, although we can say either (104)

or (105) in English, only (106) and (107) are grammatical in Spanish.

(104) John behaves himself well

(105) John behaves well

(106) Juan se comporta bien 'John behaves well'

(107) Juan se expresa bien 'John expresses (himself) well'

22

Sentences (106) and (107) are not realizable as (108) or (109)

(108) *Juan se comporta bien a si mismo

(109) *Juan se expresa bien a si mismo

Absolute reflexives are to be sharply distinguished from inherently

ireflexivelVs. Such Vs as atreverse 'dare', acordarse 'remember'and so on,

are not reflexives with deleted objects, and 'reflexive' Vs will not, there-

fore, be considered in a discussion of object pronominalization.

4,,24...ltasaneration of reflexive objects. The reflexive object in

Spanish normally repeats an animate N. While there are instances of repe-

tition of an inanimate subject, it is important to note that repeated inani-

mate Ns are never deletable. Thus, in (110) the reflexive phrase is

obligatorily present.

(110) Esto se explica a si mismo 'This explains itself'

Sentence (111) is not a result of object deletion. It is unambiguously a

(medio)passive sentence.

(111) Esto se explica fdcilmente 'This is easily explained'

Underlying (111) is a deep structure with an X (dummy) Agentive (A) N and

an 0 (,da).

(112) explic(a) 0 esto par X (fdcilmente)

Sentences of this type are discussed in 5.

The generation of sentences with reflexive objects parallels that of

sentences with oblique objects, except for the required presence of the

intensifier mismo in reflexive sentences. The structure diagrams below

illustrate the generation'of sentence (80).

cz

ETJB

TIAVN 9../TM OS I 1 ii

M

4s. 31

a

a

Kt)

VpreN TITJ814 V 9ITM

I I I

N N X

I se/ am dN 1 I

IL a A

-- .....,.........10....-'' I s (5u)

v;x914 Tit

am aM

N N X

I

\v/

q.svd

7.favIN aod 13;avyl

N X

I I

\/ \/ aN dN

1

q.svd

(CU)

a

ao

co

-t

3

9xpa eS V

A.

1

1

vIx:alii

V

47t

a

vuoTta Is vIxeli I 9.1::P

NT ttl...i...............e;-00.00-3(1

fla

(at.)

es

(at)

e

($1:0

25

(121) instead of (125) and (126)

A

V DNP

NP

N I(PrnMarta se mire, a sf misma

4.3. Reciprocal pronominalization. The available analyses of recipro-

cal pronominalization have been based on the assumption that the reciprocal

'Pm' is simply a replacive (See Lees and Klima, 1964). This is not the

case, as is observable in the following sentences.

(122) The children saw each other

(123) Each (one) of the children saw the other (ones of the) children

These two sentences are alternants, and it is important to note that each

is part of the surface subject phrase, while other is part of the surface

object phrase.18

This is a fact that has been overlooked, and a fact which

18Notice that in literary English we have They pledged their allegiance

each to the other.

obliges us to revise the analysis of reciprocal pronominalization. Basing

our interpretation on sentences (122) and (123) we observe that both

reflexive and reciprocal pronominalization result from identity of Ns in a

simplex. It is the prenominal modifiers that differ. In Spanish, when the

reciprocal object is deleted, the sentence is ambiguous because the verbal

clitic is the same for reflexive and reciprocal constructions. Thus, under-

lying (124) is either (125) or (126).

26

(124) Los niios se miraron

(125) Los nifios as miraron a sf mismos 'The children looked at them-selves'

(126) Los nifios as miraron el uno al otro 'The children looked at eachother'

In English we have Each (saw) the other; in Spanish we have The one (saw)

the other,19

191 believe this analysis extends to cover reciprocal sentences with

conjoined Ns. I am therefore assuming that the relationship that Fillmore(1968)saysmayezistbetweenconjunotionandthe Comitative case does in factexist.

111111711111111

Since much of the behavior of prenominal modifiers (limiters) remains

mysterious, it is premature to try to say exactly how each and other are

derived. We can say each saw the other and each of the other two; so each

and other apparently do not derive from the same limiter category. However,

since we can't say (127),

(127) *Each of the children saw the children,

I believe we can assume ad hoc that if we choose something like (127), other

is obligatorily the Limiter for the object-N. In other words, when we have

identical Ns in a simplex, and we choose the Limiter each as part of the

subject NP, the only limiter (aside from 2101) possible for the repeated

NP is other. In Spanish we assume as a base something like (128).

(128) (n) uno de los nifios mire al otro nirio

This is justified as a base because, although we cannot say *el uno de los

niaos, we can say el uno, as a Prn derived from el uno de los niaos. The

generation of reciprocal sentences follows.

(129)base

pastmira

DINP

INP

IKI7t-e7;Thl

K.im ter pd d

1 d Lim

d Lim I I I

II

t

I

el otro ninopor el uno de los nirlos*

*The reasonfor deriving

d from Limiterunder

D is that the NP is

a 'shortform' for el otro de los ninos.

Pd is the 'Predeterminer'

of. ActuallyI think the Pd is an internal

surfacecase marker,

probablygenitive.

It is deletedhere ad hoc by the case deletion

rules which followsubjectivalization

and V concordand precede

pronominalization

(130)Delete

subj case marker

pastmira

Y

I.

1

NP

NP

LimiterN Limil"--:-.Cezd

d N

d Limflim I I

1I

I

a el otro ninoel uno

de los ninos

(131)V concord

with subj

P

NP

K LimiterN Limit:71:M1

I dLimI d.Lim

1 I I

/

mirarona el otro niiio

el unode los nifios

(132) Clitic attachment

V

NP NP

'ter L ter Pd d N

d Lim

se miraron el otro

d Lim

ro1

nino el uno de los ninos

I I

I

SI

(133) Deletion of Pd( case)

se miraron

S

D A

JP

If<aptil Limiter

dLlin d Limi

a el otro nil° el uno los nifios

(134) Deletion of N under D

V

NP NP

as miraron

S

P

Ir-allter Limiter d N

d/InI I

I I I

a el otro el uno los ninos

28

(135)

(136)

29

se miraron

se miraron

( 1 3 7 ).

IPS

D A

NP

K Limiter

d Lim

a otro

d LimI I

el uno

S

AI

NP Irw.°- Limiter

\I t

Lim d LimI 1

los ninos se miraron el uno al otro 2°

P

NP

ter.*:64411%t

los ninos

d LimI

el uno

INP

K IXerLim

al otro los ninos

NP

K Limiter

20I am ignoring for the present the rules that attach the clitics option-

ally to infinitives and gerunds and obligatorily to affirmative commands.The postclitics are found in gbrelo 'open it'; voy a hacerlo 'I'm going todo it'; and estg cantgndola 'He is singing it.' It is a simple rule whichneed not concern us here.

30

The middle voice in Spanish. The 'reflexive' constructions not

considered in our discussion of object pronominalization include the Omedio).-

passive constructions and certain constructions with absolute intransitive

Vs. The 'reflexive' clitic with mediopassives and absolute intransitives

is not in any sense, literal or figurative, an object marker. Let us turn

first tJ the so-called 'reflexive' passives, which are referred to here as

'mediopassives.' Observe

(138) Las paces se firmaron por los plenipotenciarios 'The peace wassigned by the plenipotentiaries'

(139) Este libro se caracteriza por su estilo 'This book is character-ized by its style'

(140) Se mats a los cristianos 'The Christians got killed'

(141) Se vive Bien aquf lit (lige) lives well here'

Sentence (138) is referred to in the grammar of the Spanish Academy (1962)

as a 'primary' passive, one in which there is a surface A. Sentence (139)

has an Instrumental (I) phrase introduced by the A preposition pm. It is a

surface A phrase and no A is present in the deep structure. Sentence (142)

has been called a 'secondary' passive, one in which the A has been deleted.

(142) Se firmaron las paces 'The peace was signed'

In constructions like these, the Academy grammarians point out, the 'Prn4',

se is not reflexive; it is merely the sign of the passive. Notice that

(138) - (141) include a sentence which is a mediopassive without subjectiv-

alizatior (140),, and another in which there is only a V (141). These

sentences, as we will see, have the same deep structure as (138) and (139).

Mediopassives with expressed As, although they are presented as normal

sentences in the Academy grammar, are, to say the least, unusual. Sentences

like (139)with Is, are normal. Now, it is important to note that mediopassive

31

constructions in Spanish correspond to passives, get- passives, and intransi-

tives of the type The door opened (a type of passive) in English.21 We may

21It is extremely important to bear in mind that the so-called 'true'

passiveowith ser, (La casa fue construlda por el arquitecto, 'The house wasbuilt by the architect') are not a part of the spoken language. In fact,with many Vs, the passive is ungrammatical in written Spanish. *Marfa fue,

espantada por Juan would never occur. In general, all sentences withcausative Vs, and all sentences with D's or Source phrases as objects, areunpassivizable. We cannot say either *tin libro fue dado a Juan or *Juanfue dado un libro. The passive in Spanish is the property of journalistsand scholars. It does not even normally occur in literary Spanish. Onecan read through one long contemporary novel after another without findinga single passive construction. We do, however, have to allow the generationof passives in spoken Spanish, in order to account for el libro escrito porJuan 'the book written by John.'

therefore expect to find mediopassives with tacit X-As, others with I's,

and others without As or Is in the deep structure. With a few Vs there is

a formal distinction between mediopassives with se and simple intransitives.

But with most Vs, Spanish does not make a distinction of the sort that

exists between be and get-passives and intransitives in English.

Before continuing with our discussion of the Spanish mediopassive it

will be instructive to note some of the comments made by Tesniere (1959)

about what he calls la voix r4cessive. It is syntactically inaccurate,

according to Tesniere, to call such sentences:as (143) and (144) reflexive

or pronominal.

(143) La porte s'ouvre 'The door opens'

(144) Le b14 se sem en automne 'The wheat is sown in the Autumn'

The se of these constructions is morphologically pronominal, according to

Tesniere, but not syntactically.22

As in some other languages, the same

32

22I would amend this to say that se, in all of its occurrences, is only

etymologically a pronoun. French reflexive constructions correspond, onthe whole, to Spanish constructions. In Marie se regarde h elle rake 'Marylooks at herself' the Prn is elle mime. Notice also Jean se love 'John rises'but not *Jean se love a lui mhme.

morpheme indicates reflexive, reciprocal, and 'recessive.' In the reflexive

construction, the se marks subject and object identity, and because of this

identity, according to Tesnibre, there really is only one participant in the

sentence. In the recessive construction, a V which may have two (or more)

participants is marked by se as having only brie, non - primary' L.

(The primary participant is the transitive subject.) Although Tesnibre's

observations are revealing, it is inaccurate to say that recessive construc-

tions have only one participant, Corresponding to (139) we have (145).

(145) Le livre se caract4rise par son style 'This book is characterizedby its style!

This is a mediopassive sentence determined by subject selection. Since an

I, which would be the subject of the transitive alternant, may co-occur with

these recessive Vs, we cannot say that the se marks a V as having only one

participant. Rather, what it marks, in French as well as Spanish, is the

selection of an 'intransitive' participant as subject.23

We will say,"then,

23By an 'intransitivet:participant I mean one which cannot be the subject

of a transitive alternant. (A transitive subject is not necessarily active.Only A and I subjects are active.)

that the se of the third person mediopassive constructions, marks the

subject as intransitive, just as it marks the reflexive object-sentence as

intransitive. In this function, the clitic se attaches only to Vs that

33

take surface objects. Instead of 'recessive,' I choose to call these con-

structions Imediopassive.' This is because virtually all reflexive construe-

tions --reciprocal, reflexive, passive--correspond to middle voice constructions

in Greek. It is less confusing to call the non-pronominal constructions

'middle' than to call them 'reflexive.'

The generation of Se firmaron las paces, which must contain an X-A in

the deep structure, is illustrated below.

(146)

NP

K d N

past firma 0 las paces por

(147)

Iii P

(148)

past

NP NP

d ICI K N4

firma las paces por X

S

0 A

NP

I

Kfirmaron las paces por

(149)

P

(150)

V 0 A

AI

NP

cl\T K N

se firmkron las paces por X

S

1

V 0

NP

ffNirse firmaron las paces

34

When the intransitive participant in third person medioppsive construc-,

tions is inanimate, the V-mast.exhibit eoncord with it. Subh con-

structions as (151) and (152), therefore, are ungrammatical.

(151) *Se vende flores 'Flowers are sold'

(152) *Se habla expanol y francis aqui 'Spanish and French are spokenhere'

If a string contains an X --A and a human D N, mediopassivization does

not involve subjectivalizatior. Sentence (142) is exactly the same kind of

sentence as (141), except for the fact that the D preposition is obligatorily

retained and the D N is, therefore, not subjectivalized. And since the D is

not subjectivalized, it does not govern verbal concord. The V in these

constructions is always third person singular, and the sentence is medio -

passive, but subjectless. The verbal inflection is determined by retention

of the case marker. It follows from these observations that mediopassives

, 4

35

of the third-person-only type cannot have human subjects. Sentence (153)

results unambiguously from deletion of the reflexive object.

(153) Se mataron los cristianos sf mismos) 'The Christians killedthemselves'

One more (superficially) subjectless mediopassive construction remains

to be analyzed. Sentences like (141) Se vive bien aqua have been much

misunderstood. The clitic in this sentence is often said to be some kind

of indefinite subject Prn like English one, and it has been claimed (Bolinger,

1960) that se can be 'added' to any V to identify an activity as 'going on'

with no definite subject. Both of these observations are inaccurate. This

so-called indefinite subject-construction is impossible with any V under-

stood transitively, that is, any V with a deleted object. Thus, a sentence

like (154),

(154) Se mate alli, 'He killed himself there'

unambiguously has a reflexive object. In fact this Isubjectluss' construc-

tion is limited to mediopassives. When the underlying pasbiye,subje6t is

a cognate of the V, it is obligatorily deleted.24 Sentence (141) is unam-

24For an analysis of cognate constructions see my 'Syntactic dissimi-

lation,' available from ERIC clearinghouse for linguistics.

biguously derived from (155).

(155) Se viva la villa bien aquf 'Life is lived well here'

Similarly we have (156) - (158).

(156) Se canta (una canci6n) en la iglesia 'A song is being sung inthe church'

(157) Se habld (habla) de la guerra 'Talk was talked about the war'

(158) No se juega juego) aquf 'No game is to be played here'

36

These sentences are distinguished from (159) and (160) in that the subject

in the latter is retrievable at the sentence level.

(159) No se dice (eso) 'That isn't said'

(160) No se hate (eso) 'That isn't done'25

25It is interesting to note what is said about these constructions in the

Academy grammar. I quote: 'Estas construcciones se reducen a orationssegundas de pasiva, pero de sujeto tAcito; ... El complemento directo de .refiir, no puede ser originariamente otro que la voz como el de cantar,lo es el substantivo canci6n, y el de pelear, pelea. En la voz pasiva,cuando decimos se ring, se cants., se pelea, el sujeto callado es rills., can-ci6n, pelea.' (See p. 260,)

There are some superficially subjectless sentences that have uno one t

as underlying subject. Notice, for example, (161),

(161) Se est& contento aqui 'One is contented (inside) here,'

which derives from (162),

(162) Uno se ester contento aqul.26

26Notice that this construction is quite clearly distinguished from

'indefinite' se constructions in that it occurs in all persons: Me estoycontento aquf 'I am contenbed (inside) here.' The source of this clitic isdiscussed in 5.3. There are some intransitive constructions that have beenanalyzed as the same as se vive. Such sentences as Se sigue por esa calle'One continues (from here) along that street', and Se entra p.or all/ 'Oneenters (from outside) through there' are analyzable as Uno se sigue por esacalle and Uno se entra por all/. The source of the clitic in these sentencesis the same as that in Juan se fue de la casa, discussed in 5.2,where theclitic is shown to be determined by a Source phrase.

5.1. Some further observations on mediaossiveseptences. In some

cases Spanish makes a formal distinction between A-deletion and the absence

of an A. For example, we can say either (163) or (164), (165) or (166),

(167) or (168).

37

(163) La puerta se abre fticilmente 'The door is easily opened'

(164) La puerta abre f&cilmente 'The door opens easily'

(165) Se toc6 el timbre 'The bell was rung'

(166) Toc6 el timbre 'The bell rang'

(167) Se termin6 el baile 'The dance was ended'

(168) Termin6 el baile 'The dance ended'

The simple intransitive sentences above have no A in the deep structure.

The mediopassive sentences have X-As in the deep structure. There are many

other Vs for which an A (or rather, a transitive participant) is always

implicit. Examples are

(169) Se escribi6 la novela en Sitges 'The novel got written in Sitges'

(170) Se recibi6 la carta ayer 'The letter was received yesterday'

(171) Se le mand6 una taza de eafd 'A cup of coffee was sent to him'

It is important to note that the mediopassive subject (logical object) cannot

always be fronted. Fronting of the subject is abnormal in all three of the

preceding sentences. Subject fronting in (171), for example, is impossible.

There is no (172).

(172) *Una taza de cafd se le mand627

27The factors determining subject and object position in Spanish arecomplex, to say the least. Sometimes the positions are determined by theconstruction; sometimes the individual V determines positioning. Frontingof participants occurs also for focus, emphasis, and contrast. But it isextremely important to note that Spanish word order is not nearly so flexibleas has been claimed. For example, we say A Juan le espanta la muerte, 'Deathfrightens John' but not *La muerte le espanta a Juan. Since la muerte withespantar gi.be the last constituent, and since there are many other sen-tences when the mediopassive subject is the last constituent in a minimalsimplex, the notion (Bolinger and others, 1960) that a constituent is placedin the last position in the sentence in order to achieve what corresponds toloud or emphatic stress in English is inaccurate. Although, as in English,emphasis, or focus, is sometimes brought about by inversion, it can also be

38

achieved by greater loudness. And it is obvious in sentence (171) that,since the mediopassive subject can't be in any other position it cannot besaid to be in that position for reasons of stress. More observations onword order than are relevant here may be found in Reflexives.

5.1.1. There are many causative Vs with animate Locs and optionally

an A or an I which appear in the mediopassive (never the passive) when the

D is chosen as subject. Thus we have the active in (173) and the medio-

passive in (174).

(173) A Juan le espanta la muerte 'Death frightens John'

(174) Juan se espanta de la muerte 'John is (gets) frightened of death'

5.2. Middles determined by Source phrases. It was pointed out in

2.2.1. that the D clitic has a Loc, or directional, function when its pre-

sence is determined by a Loc phrase. There are middle sentences also in

which the clitic has a directional function. Observe the following.

(175) Juan se fue de la casa 'John went away from the house'

(176) Se me fue mi amigo 'by friend went away from me'

(177) A Juan se le olvid6 hacerlo 'John forgot to do it'

(178) A Juan se le perdi6 el dinero 'John lost the money'

(179) A Juan se le muri6 su padre 'John's father passed away from him'

The middle clitics in these sentences have been called 'reflexives'of'interest'

optionally 'added' to convey the subject's emotional involvement in the

activity, to indicate for (176), say, that the subject goes willingly or

resists going, and so on. The grammatical facts of these constructions

allow us, happily, to give up the notion of emotional involvement. Notice,

that although we can say (180) and (181), (182) and (183) are ungrammatical.

(180) Juan fue a la escuela 'John went to school'

(181) Juan cay6 al suelo 'John fell to the ground'

ra m

39

(183) *Juan fue de la casa 'John went from the house'

(184) *Juan cay6 del Arbol 'John fell from the tree'

The clitics are obligatorily attached to these Vs when a Source adverb is

present. They function as markers of 'direction from'' indicated by off and

away, in English. Thus, (175) is accurately translated as JohpEgglamy

from the house, and the clitic in (184) has the same function as down in the

English translation.

(184) Juan se cay6 del Arbol 'John fell down from the tree'

Even in sentences with L phrases, the clitics cannot be said to be optional.

(181) contains only an L; in (185) the Source has been deleted.

(185) Juan se cay6 al suelo 'John fell down to the ground'

In sentences (175) - (179) the human Source phrase is a surface D and

its presence is registeradUnthe V by the D clitic, not by the se.*The latter

indicated only the direction of motion. Sentences (177) and (178) deserve

special attention because they have transitive alternants. (186) and (187)

have the same deep structure as (177) and (178).

(186) Juan olvid6 hacerlo 'John forgot to do it '

(187) Juan perdi6 el dinero 'John lost the money'28

28The subjects in these two sentences may also be As, but the A-subjectsentences are not alternants of (178) and (179). As in English, the transi-tive sentence leaves it unspecified whether the subject is A or not. InJohn lost his money, the subject is either A or Source. In John deliberatelylost his_money the subject is an A.

Sentences (177) and (178) are the alternants required when the 0 phrases

are chosen as subjects in the presence of the Source phrases. In other words,

these sentences are analyzed along with (176) (which has an A) rather than

40

as ordinary mediopassives, because the latter are triggered by treating an

X-Source as a superficial A and not as Source. Thus, (188) has an implicit

A--- Source qua A.

(188) Se perdi6 el dinero 'The money got lost'

Sentences (177) and (178), it should be pointed out, unlike (186), cannot

have As in the deep structure, and there is a difference in semantic focus

between the surface structures of those in the first two and the transitive

sentences. (177) is 'The money got lost from me'; (178) is 'It was forgotten

from me to do it.'29

aoslYwIldIN.IMON

29It should be pointed out that se le ± V constructions are not alwaysof this type. In settiojap_galmaa 'Your tears can be seen' the tois a registration : the V of an adnominal D of possession. The same istrue of the me it -Se me llenaron losolo de 14gripas 'My eyes filled withtears.'

The Source clitic is obligatory in (175) - (178). We cannot say (189)

or (190).

(189) *Me olvid6 hacerlo

(190) nib perdi6 el dinero30

arraIllemelli30There are actually three possible sentences with olvidar hacerlo: 01-

vidd hacerlo 'I forgot to do it'; se me olvid6 hacerlo 'It was forgottenfrom me to do it'; and Me olvid6 de hacerlo 'I forgot (inside) to do it.'The last of these has an L subject, as does feel in I feel sick inside.

It should be noted that in (179), deletion of the Source phrase may be

accompanied by deletion of the D clitic, as in (191).

(191) Se muri6 mi padre 'My father passed away (from me)'

If no Source is present in the deep structure with morir, the sentence is

realized as (192).

41

(192) M4ri6.mi padre 'My father died'

Retention of the Source phrase involves obligatory fronting of the phrase.

There is no (193) or (194).

(193) *El dinero se le perdi6 a Juan

(194) *Se le perdi6 el dinero a Juan

As Marta Morello -Frosch has pointed out, it is not the case, as has been

claimed, that these sentences would seldom be said; in fact, they would never11.0111111

be said.

5.2.1. The deep structure for A Juan se le Derdi6 el dinero is illus-

trated as follows.

(195)

1

V- 0 Loc1

I I I

1

1p. NSource

I I

K d N :past pierde 0 el dinero a Juan

The additional stuns in derivation parallel those in other constructions

we have seen. Fronting of the Source adverb is the final step.

3.3. Further observations on middles. There are some middle sentences

that remain to be accounted for. First of all there are many inherent

middles in Spanish which must simply be marked E-Middlg in the lexicon.

The middle clitic is then attached by a rule such as (196).

V -4. se -P. Vet/addle-1

Middle Vs do not take surface objects and non-middle clitics do not there-

fore attach to them. There is no (197).

42

(197) *Se me quej6 'He complained to me'

Another type of middle construction, in which the clitic is said to be

optional s found in such sentences as (198).

(198) Yo (me) s4 la lecci6n 'I know the lesson (inside)'

The clitic in sentences like these is determined by the L subject. It is

optional just as the inside of I know (it) inside is optional. Sentences

like these, in both languages are determined by subject copying rather than

by simple subjectivalization. Thus we have, ignoring the Factitive object,

(199) know inside me

(200) inside me know inside me

(201) I know inside me

(202) I know inside

In Spanish the process is something like this;

(203) sabe dentro de mi

(204) sabe dentro de mi dentro de mi

(205) sabe dentro de mi yo

(206) sd dentro de mi yo

(207) Be s6 dentro de ml yo

(208) me sg yo

5.4. TALyositioning of clitics. The positioning of the cities has

been illustrated in several sequences of diagrams. I need only to point out

here the restrictions. If there is a middle clitic it precedes either a D

or a direct object marker; if there is no middle clitic)but a D, the D clitic

precedes the direct object marker. The restrictions are summed up as follows.

The middle clitic is symbolized as 'Mid'; the D clitic by 'D'; and the direct

object marker by 'Dr.' The parentheses indicate that one or the other or

both may occur.

r

a

43

(209) (Hid)

D)

(Dr)

(D) (Dr)

This is to be taken simply as a kind of summary, since, as we have seen,

the clitics are inserted one at a time. It follows from this description

that no more than two clitics may attach to a V. There is no (210) or (211).

(210) *Se me lo dijo 'I was told it'

(211) *Se me lo perdi6 'It got lost'

5.5. Recapitulation. In this study it has been shown that the verbal

clitics in Spanish are distinguished from object Prns. The D clitics and

the middle clitics are shown to have directional or possessive functions

according to the category determining their presence. Oblique and reflexive

Prns are distinguished, and the generation of object Prns and most types of

middles (so-called 'reflexives') is illustrated. The facts of clitic

behavior in Spanish make it a little more 'unusual' Western language than

has been thought, and a little less unusual than it would be if Se me perdi6

el dinero were really accurately glossed as 'The money lost itself to me.'

REFERENCES

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Babacock, Sandra S. 1968. Syntactic dissimilation. Washington. ERIC

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Bello, Andrgs and Rufino J. Cuervo. 1964. GramEctica de la lengua castellana,

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Curme, G. 0. 1931. Syntax. Boston. Heath.

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Postal, Paul M. 1964. Mohawk prefix generation. Proceedings of the ninthinternational congress of linguists. The Hague. Mouton. 346-57.

Real Academia espaRola. 1962. GramAtica de la lengua espafiola. Madrid.Espasa-Calpe.

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